Atlas Hugged

Among many observations made by Dr. Mrs. Ole Perfesser about why liberals are unable to sympathize with conservatives (liberals are like “psychopaths”! Just kidding, not really, but they do have much in common) is this wonderful thing that Dr. Mrs. Ole Perfesser actually wrote on her computer machine:

Finally, and my third possibility, is it could be lack of education that allows the left to lack empathy. They are not exposed to right-leaning and libertarian ideas. For example, how many classes at school are teaching about the ideas of Hayek,Friedman, and Rand? If kids grow up without this information, they may turn into adults who lack the ability to understand other points of view.

Because if I wanted to teach a child about “empathy” the easiest thing to do would be to toss him or her a copy of Atlas Shrugged and let nature takes its course.

There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.